Love is the best Lullaby
by Wisba
Summary: Kriem finds herself paralyzed with fear, alone in Jakes apartment during a thunderstorm. Jake is the only one who can distract her from her fear. Jake/Kriem


It was loud.

With every clap of thunder and with every flash of lightning, Kriem felt herself burrowing deeper and deeper into the rug underneath the coffee table. The storm had come suddenly, and she dared not flee to her room on the other side of the apartment. She was paralyzed. She didn't want to move. She could barely even speak.

It was loud.

Loud was everything she hated. Kids teasing, dogs barking, books falling… glass shattering, her father yelling … but most of all the shrieks of horror at her animated dolls, and the sharp sound of the slap to her cheek after.  
><em>"Don't you dare do that again. Not in this house."<em>  
>It was loud.<p>

It was so loud, that Kriem barely heard her own whimpers. She barely heard the sound of the door slamming. She didn't hear the sound of the umbrella shaking, or the grumbles of the man dressed in black.

"Kriem?" He called out, looking for her. Of course, she didn't hear him. It was far too loud. She didn't notice him until his face was parallel with hers, his lengthy body stretched out on the cold ground. "Oh. There you are. What are you doing down there?" Embarrassed, Kriem stood quickly, only to bang her head on the table. She was forced to slowly slink out from under it, one hand wiping her face, the other nursing her now growing bump.

"Oh! Mr. Jake! Welcome home! I was just… something fell under the couch and I was…"  
>"That's a lie." Jake waved his hand dismissively, rolling his eyes. "I'm not stupid. What do you take me for?" Jake considered her for a moment, tilting his head to the side, his expression neutral. "Are you afraid of thunderstorms, Kriem?"<p>

Kriem bit her lip and shook her head. This man, her idol, her savior, had never shown fear in the face of anything. Kidnappings, killings, mob bosses … how could she admit her childish fear of thunderstorms at eighteen years of age in front of him?  
>"No. Of course I'm not scared. How old do you think I…" Kriem tried to keep herself calm, trying to mimic his unaffected appearance in the face of the storm. However, another loud clap caught her off guard and she went rigid, staring wide-eyed up at the man in front of her. Before she could say a word, Jake smiled.<p>

"Of course you're scared. Let's get you into bed." without warning Jake smiled and picked up the scrawny girl, walking slowly in the direction of her bedroom. Kriem didn't object. Under normal circumstances she would have been mortified, however the thunder kept her thoroughly distracted, and she chose to bury her head deeper into Jakes shoulder, trying not to shudder at each flash of bright white. Jake shuffled his way to Kriems bedroom, elbowing the door open and walking to the bed, Kriem still firmly in his arms. She inhaled slowly, realizing she never noticed how solid he was. Well built and muscled, the stray hairs of his sideburns tickled her neck as she clung to him. He leaned forward and turned down the sheets with one hand, placing her down on the bed with the other. Kriem looked up at him desperately, a silent plea, begging him not to leave. He simply grinned and crawled into bed with her.  
>"I'm not going anywhere." He mumbled as he crawled under the sheets, bringing the blankets up around both of them. "So stop worrying."<p>

Kriem simply nodded. She wasn't used to such affections, especially not from her idolized "Mr. Jake". She felt foolish, staring awkwardly at the man across from her in the dark, fighting every urge to scoot just a few inches closer and cuddle up to him. God, she wanted to lay her head in the crook of his arm and sleep there. He looked welcoming. Inviting. Safe. And, god, above all things, attractive. Kriem stared at him through dazed eyes, her thoughts wandering through hazy memories of the past. The past year in particular. Days where her chest felt light whenever he was around, and empty and lifeless when he wasn't. She tried even harder to be girlish for him, but for someone who had grown up hated by peers and their immediate family, normal things like knowing how to doll themselves up were hard for Kriem. The one thing she could be proud of was her cooking skills that were improving rapidly. She soon grew to realize Mr. Jake had absolutely no bearings in the kitchen whatsoever, and Kriem was able to impress him with her home cooked meals, no matter how basic they were.  
>She wasn't sure how long they lay there until Kriem was brought out of her daydream by ghostly fingers drawing up and down her leg. She squeaked, feeling the hand moving up to rub her thigh, and a bit higher. She stared in surprised horror as she noticed Jake had moved closer to her in the bed, and he had settled into a nice rhythm of circular strokes on her mid thigh.<br>"Mr. Jake-! What are you... why are you..." Kriem was almost too entranced to form a coherent answer, almost disbelieving that a simple touch could be this relaxing.  
>"I'm distracting you from the thunder." Jake replied easily. "Do you want me to stop?"<br>God no, not really. This is what she had been pinning after for months. Kriem shook her head no, thankful for this golden opportunity. Sex could wait until later. Much much later. This cuddling, this sinfully nice cuddling was good enough for her.  
>"Good. I'm glad." Jake wrapped gloved hand tightly around Kriems wrist pulling her hand to rest on his suit jacket. "Now Kriem. Is tonight the night you're finally going to own up and tell me what I want to hear?"<p>

Kriem inhaled sharply. She'd known about the extensity of Jakes powers for some time now, but he was subtle about them. He rarely used them unless he really wanted to get her. A good example would be right now. Kriem sputtered uselessly for a few seconds, before yanking her pillow out from under her head and shoving her face into it, peeking out over the edge.  
>"What do you want to hear...?" she asked him, quickly moving her eyes to stare at a spot on the sheets.<br>"What do you think?" Jake shifted so he was able to grab both of her hands in his. He placed them on the lapels of his jacket. He smiled, placing one hand on her hip, and the other he threaded into her hair.  
>"Do it right. You know what I want."<br>"Mr. Jake I don't...I-"  
>"Yes you do. Think about it."<br>God. He meant it. He was looking at her with the most sincere smile she's ever seen him wear, and he meant it.  
>"M-Mr. Jake...I...well I've been thinking for awhile now... I mean this is the first time I've..."<br>"Out with it girl. I don't have all night."  
>"Mr. Jake I...I think I might like you!"<p>

Jake stared at her for a moment, before erupting into furious laughter, rolling away from her and holding his stomach. Kriem simply sat there and pouted, tearing up a bit. He was laughing! She had told him her true feelings and he was laughing!  
>"Mr. Jake!" Kriem pleaded, sitting up, doing her best to keep a steady glare at the other man.<br>"No no! Oh god Kriem I'm sorry! But that was just so...just so... You were so cute! You acted like a schoolgirl confessing her love for the first time!" Jake confessed between laughs, wiping a tear from his eye.  
>"Well I am!" Kriem replied angrily.<br>Jake smiled and calmed down, pulling her to him suddenly. He forced her hands up against his chest, swinging his hands around her back, using his superior height to tower over her.  
>"I'm sorry, Kriem. That's what I wanted to hear, you're right. Here, you deserve a-" as Jake leaned down to press his lips to hers, Kriem stopped him.<br>"W-wait! Do you...like me too?" she glared at him, putting a hand up in between them. "I want..." Kriem paused. "A serious answer."

Jake smiled. He liked her, for sure. But did he "like like" her, as the schoolgirls called it? Perhaps. She was the only one who worshipped him so strongly, but then turned around on him in times like this to be firm with him. The only other women he had associated with were drunken girls or prostitutes, and he had never had a girlfriend.  
>"Yes I like you." he said finally, smirking and leaning forward once again. But Kriem only moved herself further away from him.<br>"No. I want to know if you love me, Mr. Jake. Not "like". Not that you can tolerate me. I love you. You're the only man ...only _person_ I've ever loved in the whole world..." she looked at him, swallowing hard and drawing her lips into a thin line. "But if you aren't prepared to love me back then I don't think I..."

Kriem trailed off. She _loved_ him. All the afternoons they had spent reading books together. All the times she had brought him meals, and watched him laugh. All the times she had wished he was that much closer to her on the couch, or all the times she had _almost_ stood on her tiptoes to kiss his cheek. That was all love. And it had taken her this long to realize this wasn't just a crush brought on by the fact she thought Jake was attractive (And the fact he walked around shirtless all the time.) It had taken her own spur of the moment confession for her to realize how deep she was in Jake's life already. For some reason, it had really never registered with her. She had lived in his house for over three years now, but it was only in this moment she realized how lucky she was to be around him 24/7.

Her mind was spinning, but she was brought out of her internal revelation by the feeling of Jakes hand moving over her cheek.

"I like you, Kriem. I truly do. I've never been a man of indulging affectionate feelings. So ... I don't know what _love_ is. I never have. But..." Jake smiled down at her, running a thumb over her lips experimentally. "Whatever this feeling is, I'm certainly ready to give it a try."

Kriem's heart skipped a beat, and she exhaled, looking up into his eyes. She tried to suppress a smile as he leaned down and brushed his lips over hers. Once, twice, three times, before pressing his mouth to hers. His lips were soft, and Kriem instinctively closed her eyes and curled her fingers to grip his lapels. She sighed softly as he pulled away, brushing a strand of hair behind her ear.

"The storm has stopped, you know."

"What?" Kriem looked up at Jake, a dazed smile on her face.

"The storm stopped quite a bit ago." Jake grinned. "Did you forget why we were here?"

It was true. The vicious lightning and thunder had ceased, along with the pouring rain.

"I...oh. I guess I didn't notice it that much after you got home." Kriem shrugged, as if it were no big deal.

"Why were you scared anyway? I never expected thunderstorms to be a big issue with you."

Kriem sighed. Now they were going to have the talk. The talk where Kriem explained exactly how pathetic she was.

"...It reminds me of slapping."

"Excuse me?" Jake raised an eyebrow. It reminded her of...what now?

"When I used to..." Kriem sat up and pulled her legs up to her chest, resting her chin on her knees. "When I used to use my powers at home. If my mom found out...well." Kriem smiled and placed a hand on her cheek. "It's all in the past, anyway."

"Yes." Jake smiled and kissed her cheek, pushing her to lie down again. "It's all in the past."

Kriem sighed and curled up next to him, surprised by his kindness. No one had ever been so nice to her before, not in her whole life. She let her head fall onto his shoulder, moving her hand up to play with his beard curiously. Jake looked at her, but shrugged and wrapped his arms around her.

"Mind if I sleep here?" Jake laughed, squeezing her tightly in an effort to pull her a bit closer.

"I would be angry if you left." She retorted, pulling on his beard sharply.

"Ow! Ow! No fair!" He reached out to retaliate, but pulling hair just seemed mean.

"All's fair in love and war, Mr. Jake."

"Is that so?"

"It is."

Kriem smiled. She pulled his hat off his head, placing it on her own. She snuggled into his chest, her nose tickled by the scent of his cologne. For the first time in her whole life, she felt safe with someone. She felt loved by someone. She spent a few more moments lying next to him, before piping up.

"Mr. Jake?"

"Mmn?"

"Thank you."

"For what?" Jake looked down at her, more alert at her strange comment.

"For everything."

Jake drew his eyebrows together, but shrugged and kissed her forehead.

"It's my pleasure."


End file.
